


The King s lover

by Freewilllife



Series: The beginning of a New Era! [8]
Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Anime, F/M, Manga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 11:49:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13681092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freewilllife/pseuds/Freewilllife
Summary: Min-Ji cannot believe it. This strange man is supposed to be their king? Who has ever heard of taking over a city without a battle?And what strange being observes her and the king?





	The King s lover

**The King s lover**

_"In this country,_

_there are many people_

_I want to protect"_

_Yona_

The old whore called Ten lay on the thumb of the Dragon s claw, near the shore. It was an ancient town; some housings may have even existed when Zeno s ancestors had arrived in their boats, hundreds of years before.

On the outside, it was a respectable city. A coastal town. Ships of all dimensions anchored before it and gave the trades of their owners away. Merchants offered their goods at the market, in the centre of the town.

Quite "exotic" fruits, fine draperies -valuable silk and wool, exquisite jewellery and many more merchandise was presented at the market.

This abundance, the city boasted about, was achieved on the back of foreigners, people who were not part of the tribes, that occupied the city.

"The Wanderers" were one of these tribes. Their skills in the trades and their enormous knowledge in medicine, agriculture, politics and trade made them an attractive partner for the other part of the infamous couple, "the Hawks".

Skilful warriors, famous for their sly methods of getting rid of their enemies and simultaneously using them for one's own end.

The young women and children became their working class, their diligent "Ants", that were used in the taverns, brothels, in the market, or for personnel usage in the houses.

A popular location for the "Ants", were the mines of the old town Chishin, that existed even 2000 years ago and even then, the mines were exploited for a couple of years.

Then the "Ants" dug precious jewels up, the same ones, that were used in the temples of the gods.

The town of Ten was the aim of King Hiryuu s men. Here, they would try to lessen the number of "Ants" for a start to get rid of that system in the long run.

On the sixth day after the first of King Hiryuu s people had arrived before the city, the "Crows" joined them.

A long line of warriors with feathers and coloured faces rode past the folks in the camp. The woman and men who didn t wield any weapons were quite scared of the sight of that redoubtable mountain trolls.

The small black-haired woman at their top was quite a strange contrast to the strong, muscled warriors. Occasionally other women were mixed in this succession.

Min-Ji was scanning the area for that person. When she spotted the fiery hair of King Hiryuu within the crowd, she directed her black horse towards that man.

" _Quite young for a king. Not older than me at least. But it Is said, that he isn t even a human being. Let s see. I am quite excited about meeting that king."_

Shortly before that man, she was jumping off her horse.

That person didn t even blink once.

" _You are King Hiryuu, aren t you?",_ she asked that redhead. It was a pointless question. There was no other person with a hair of red, but Min-Ji was not very accommodated with the formal ways of greeting a person of higher standing.

No Crow would ever bow before another person and superficial pleasantries were frowned upon.

That man just nodded.

" _Yes."_ A simple answer. Min-Ji would have nearly smiled at him. But she didn t wish to be too friendly to that stranger.

" _My king_ , she said. That was correct. She accepted his lead at least for the time being.

" _My king, how do you wish to take over Ten,"_ Min-Ji asked him directly. They had no time to spare. Many preparations had to be considered, if they wish to conquer the city before autumn.

His reaction was quite disillusioning.

He stared at her wide-eyed.

" _Excuse me, what did you say?"_

His eyes were quite…Hm?

Now it was Min-Ji s turn to be surprised.

" _You don t wish to take over Ten? Why do you need our help then?"_

That man smiled at her. It was a genuine expression of joy. Min-Ji didn t just understand, why he was happy.

The "Hawks" were a pain and Min-Ji really wasn t very fond of the idea of having to fight them, let alone talk with them.

Nobody knew, what kind of tricks they would use.

Completely unaware of the dark thoughts of his subject, King Hiryuu explained:

" _I wish to talk with them first. Human beings aren t that different from each other and often they are not able to express their feelings and thoughts, which can lead to disaster."_

The 16-year old leader of the Crows wished she had stayed home. What kind of fool was this person? And he was their king, on top of that!

They would fail, as sure as she had won the battle against Taemin, the arch-enemy of her father. Later Min-Ji couldn t say anymore, why she stayed, even though their king was mad.

Somehow, she heard a voice: _"Good, that you are with him."_ Surprised, she had turned in all directions, but she was not able to discover the owner of that mysterious voice.

The Crows were accompanying the king into Ten. Or at least a minor part of their group followed the thin figure of King Hiryuu into the lion s den.

The people looked all very well. Children were playing on the street. Women and man were talking with each other and leisurely spending their free time at a restaurant or in a local tavern. The houses were built of stone, which most likely originated from the near mountains.

" _Though that is maybe the reason for the inequalities here. Which adult has enough time to enjoy their life the whole day?"_

Just as Min-Ji had expected, the "house" of that chief of the "Wanderers" was so big, that the entire village of the Crows had fit into that housing.

" _He surely has some nerve."_

" _He surely has,"_ was the commentary of the mysterious person talking beside her, without her being able to discover the source of it.

King Hiryuu just walked into the house, as if this great estate was merely a hut.

The guards didn t know, what to do. Such a person…the had never met anyone before, that just had barged into the stately home of their great leader.

A sophisticated man sat there on the floor, working diligently for the wellbeing of his people.

Jin s face light up, when he spotted the leader of his tribe, sitting on the floor, surrounded by at least hundreds different papers. The great "Wanderer" had quite white, bright hair falling down his back, a white finely trimmed moustache that decorated his long face.

Min-Ji was taken aback. This person was the epitome of a sweet-talker, a person whose words most likely weren t worth the breath the person needed to spell them out. On top of that, he didn t bother to even lift this big head of his to notice his guests. He just kept on scribbling whatever the hell he wanted.

And he kept on pretending these people weren t there. The young leader of the Crows didn t know, how long this person avoided to merely look at them. Finally, after an eternity, this "Great whatsoever" seemed to notice them by sparing them a glance.

" _You are far too wary. Maybe he does speak the truth,"_ the "small voice" told her…Min-Ji deemed the speaker to be a mere child and probably male, on the other hand, the voice was so high and somehow familiar….

" _Great Wanderer, oh dearest",_ Min-Ji was rolling her eyes when she heard Jin expressing such pleasantries," _we came to present you a very fortunate proposition. King Hiryuu here, he wishes to buy 30.000 of the "Ants"."_

That announcement did strike a reaction in that man. Rather! The feather he was writing with just a few moments ago, was falling to the ground.

However, the highest man within the tribe of the "Wanderer" regained his composure quickly.

" _My dearest friend,"_ Min-Ji should learn that these bizarre people addressed basically everyone inside of their tribe like that _," that must be a misunderstanding. 30.000 of the "Ants" nobody is that rich."_

" _I can assure you, my dearest "Great Wanderer", that my king always keeps his word."_

" _Amazing. You can literally see, how the creed is gnawing on him."_

The young girl had to bit on her tongue to keep the stone face up. The whole scene was truly hilarious!

" _We might consider the bargain,"_ this person finally declared.

" _Very well. I will hand the price over tomorrow_ , "King Hiryuu promised to the "Great Wanderer".

The whole way back, Min-Ji was rolling with laughter inside. This man was far less naïve, than she had thought. On the other hand, it was sheer madness to consider that deal.

" _My king, I need to talk with you."_

The redhead was clearly astonished, that she wished to have a conversation with him.

" _Sure,"_ was King Hiryuu s perplexed answer.

The young woman picked a tavern, near the shore. The sea was quite serene today and Min-Ji enjoyed the sight of it.

" _What do you wish to talk about?",_ King Hiryuu asked, when the maid placed two cups of a bitter tea before them.

Coming straight to the point. That is pretty good.

" _My King, do you really believe that this person will honour his pledge?"_

Firmly, she gazed at his face.

Sighing, the King shook his head.

" _No. I am not sure. If I learned one thing during this 2 years, that I have already stayed here, then there is nothing, that is sure, if it comes to human beings."_

Amazed, Min-Ji noticed, that the smile of this person was quite strained.

" _So, he is at least not crazy. Good. I am relieved."_

" _Nope. But he likes them so much, that it makes him sad,"_ the little voice said. Quite dull was the little one today.

" _Then why did you propose that bargain, if you suspect that the other person will turn his back on it."_

With this smile, that was somehow hard to watch, he said _:" Because I hope,that…"_

King Hiryuu didn t reveal, what he hoped for…

Min-Ji already knew it.

" _What a sweet dream my king. That dream has existed as long as we occupy this earth. A peaceful existence….How nice…"_

The petite girl, yet the great leader of the Crows, looked outside, watching the passer-by's.

" _What a truly lovely image…"_

The silence between them wasn t unwelcomed.

However, a young, quite "colourful" girl approached these two people. Min-Ji thought, that the amount of make-up one could put on his face, was amazing.

" _Excuse me, my lord,"_ she cooed quite alluring _," do you might wish to spend a little time with me?"_

Stupefied, the king looked in Min-ji s eyes. He obviously assumed that this situation was "something special", but he didn t really understand, what he was supposed to do…

" _I am pleased to meet you."_ King Hiryuu chose a nice and formal greeting. Just to be sure.

Min-Ji had to fight hard, not to grin. This whole scene was really something…

The smile of the girl grew a little stiffer. She must have sensed, that this person before her was different.

His reaction at least was strange.

She regained her composure rather quickly and tried hard, to appear quite alluring.

That young girl, with the brownish hair, being draped around her small shoulders, were slowly outstretching her hand with quite an elegant move.

Slightly touching the the cheek of King Hiryuu….wrapping one curl of his fiery red hair around her index finger.

The former Red Dragon…froze. His eyes grew lager, nearly threatened to pop out of his head. His mouth opened.

" _What?.What…What"_

Some strands of her hair were brushing smoothly against his neck, when she leaned in.

Seductively she was presenting him her red, heart-shaped lips.

" _Hey girl, you are seeing that he is uncomfortable. Let him go."_

Min-Ji was tapping with her finger on the shoulder of the girl.

Dumbfounded, she directed her attention to the tiny girl with the black hair and these eyes….Uh…These eyes were quite…

The leader of the Crows emanated a wicked aura…The pressure boring against her skin…A shudder ran down the back of the girl. …Everyone might have been afraid of these dreadful blue eyes…

Quite frightened, she drew her hand back so quickly, that a bystander would have been unable to witness the act and disappeared at lightning speed.

These eyes…

Fearfully, the girl watched back…What a frightening person. She had never seen a girl with such eyes.

Was she even a human being?

Brusquely, Min-Ji turned around and faced King Hiryuu again. Her anger was still present.

King Hiryuu looked at that girl quite puzzled.

" _Why are you angry?",_ he asked her, since he couldn t explain neither Min-Ji s reaction, nor the strange situation that had occurred before his eyes.

He was not in the least intimidated by her anger.

" _Why didn t you shove her away? You are a guy, right? Shouldn t a big guy, like you be able to defend his chastity against such a young girl?"_

The king tilted his head. He looked at her with a serious expression on his face.

" _What is a "chastity?"_

Min-Ji was reduced to silence. What?

"Ah…chastity…" It dawned on her, that gods had maybe no idea of intimate relationships between a man and a woman….or generally between partners…Obviously they didn t need another to reproduce, nor were they in need for love, for reassurement, or companionship.

Gods were worshipped naturally. Why should they need anybody else? They were not weak like human beings…

" _I am…,"_ a smile played on the corner of her lips. Oh…So it was like this.

Hiryuu gave her a wide-eyed stare….His lips were partly open…

" _That is strange," the King realized," Why is it palpitating so loudly?_

" _You smiled for the first time…"_ King Hiryuu said, partly still in a daze.

" _For real?"_ the smile became broader _," but so what? That is fine by me."_

She turned around, telling him over her shoulder: _"Why don t we go back now and see, if that plan of yours works. Though I think that you just emptied your purse, buying so many people at once"_

The last remark made him regain his composure again.

" _I think it will work. Human beings are attracted to the glinting stones."_

_In his voice, there was far more self-confidence, than a moment ago._

She raised one eyebrow.

" _Suddenly so sure of yourself?"_

He answered her ironic statement with a confident smile.

" _I hope so. Besides, 30.000 should be the amount of slaves they own. Geuntae and a few others have discovered, that this number most likely equates to the total number of people that suffer under their leadership, even counting the people vegetating in the mines of Udo, near Chishin."_

The noises grew dimmer and dimmer…. The vision became narrower and narrower, his visual field was so severely constricted now, as from a tunnel looking out, until it all went black.

Tardily, he was opening his eyes and his surroundings greeted him once again. The green leaves of the oak trees before him, were dancing in the wind, giggling at him, since he had overdone it.

His head was spinning. His stomach felt sick. The transmission really had been intense.

He was holding his hand before his eyes; it was still trembling. His ears still heard the palpitating noise of King Hiryuu s heart, resounding again and again in his ear-drums.

Slowly he breathed through his nose, until he felt, that his physical reactions were barely normal again; when the breathing in, was not so painful anymore.

Then he wiped his nose. A red, bloody thread had run down his nose. But at least, he didn t see more than one tree anymore. For a moment, Zeno had been afraid, when his vision had gone black, the moment it started…

When he had connected his mind with the ones of the lesser forest spirits…His sight had been broadened and abruptly, he had been able to see…further and further away…As if the horizon had been drawn nearer…Although it was wrong of him, it was not the horizon that had changed, it had been him, who had let go of his body, who had left his physical being….merely connected to his body by a thin thread. How astonished had he been, discovering that he could observe this person, he had dreamed to see.

Zeno was still not quite acquainted with this new ability of his, but it has become as necessary as breathing to him.

Now the 8-year old boy spent hours, faraway, disconnected with his physical self. It was like dreaming….so much better than the reality he currently lived in.

If he had known, that it would be like this, would he have left his village and gone with Geuntae?

Zeno was still unsure, even now he was hesitating….This was his home after all.

* * *

Those had been his words, directly before Geuntae had fled from the village

" _These people aren t worth that you worry about them…They have nearly killed you! They have nearly sacrificed you," the big and strong man, was seizing the shoulders of the little one and was shaking him._

" _Why do you wish to stay? Are you insane?"_

"This is my home. These are my people. You don t understand it."

" _No,"_ Geuntae had spat before him _," I don t understand you. I would have run away the next moment. These bigots! Nearly murdering a child!"_

The warrior of the North had turned around and left the village in the same moment. Geuntae hadn t stayed longer than necessary. Not anymore.

* * *

Did he regret his choice? He would have been able to stay with Geuntae s family, at least, that had been promised by this person.

" _Most likely it would have been easier",_ Zeno thought, while he entered the village. For the transmission, Zeno had chosen a location, where he could be sure, that nobody would observe his movements. It was better like this.

Not one person at the market place seemed to notice him, they all seemed to be so engrossed in their occupation, that they completely overlooked the young boy, passing by their stalls.

Not too long ago, the same people had greeted him and told him stories about their lives and Zeno had been an attentive listener. Here, Dora, the old girl, that had always secretly slipped him a persimmon,if her husband hadn t been around, but nothing…no greeting, even if Zeno was sure, that she had seen him.

Though…they were following him…their eyes…they would look at his feet, or his ankles, legs or hands, but certainly not at his face. Who cared how he felt about it?

The only person that still talked with him, that still interacted with him was his grand-father. If not for him, Zeno might have really run after the man of that king….

Looking back over his shoulder, Zeno watched the going-on, their conversations, the bickering and the laughs…

Once upon a time…


End file.
